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There have been reports of these caps being returned because of poor quality control, but both samples I've seen have been decent. No, they aren't TV or AP quality, but the majority of users will be quite happy with them. If you are looking to get started in this hobby, or if you are just looking for something to cover your head, look no further? Personally, rather than seeing them as competition to the AP and TV hats, I see them more as an introductory item - one aimed at the newbie who perhaps would never have purchased a premium baseball cap because of the cost. Whichever way you cut it, now is a great time to be an astronomer!

A small, fast refractor is the ideal telescope. The short focal length makes it almost as compact as a similar reflector while costing several times more. A rather restricted aperture enables one to practice their averted-vision techniques while searching for deep-space objects such as M31. Planetary observation is a strength of these instruments and the necessary magnification is easily obtained by stacking two or three barlow lenses. Chromatic aberration is an important criterion and these scopes have plenty of it. Higher quality scopes use exotic and expensive lenses that can actually reduce chromatic aberration to that of a good f/15 Tasco. With these points in mind, I set out to find my ideal scope.

My name is Ric, and I'm an eyepiece junky.
There, I've said it now. It's a sad state of affairs when a grown man has to admit such a thing to the whole world, but my wife was very clear on the matter: if I'm going to get through this, then I'm going to need the support and understanding of my peer group. That's you.
So how did this all come about? When did an eyepiece stop